A Fateful Meeting
by bezarius
Summary: Nine years have passed since the archedemon was slain. With Morrigan nowhere to be found within these years of searching, the Warden was given the task to hunt a potentially dangerous mage-killer. Or was it fate that is waiting for him?


_Er... first attempt at making a fanfic and its Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins. My character was a male human mage and pursues the Morrigan romance. The ending was dramatic enough though to let me think of all the possible things that could happen and here is my attempt at writing it. _

_Hopefully, I won't disappoint anyone and reviews are always a welcome so I can improve more on it :D (and some of the grammar as well .)_

_**Oh, and I don't own any parts of Dragon Age: Origins as they belong to the briliant minds at Bioware.** Hmm...maybe I own Eldric and Cedric only xD_

_Enjoy ^^_

* * *

**A Fateful Meeting: Prologue**

Looking out of the Circle's tower window in the First Enchanter's room gave away an overview of how beautiful yet dark Lake Calenhad is, especially at night. Eldric never imagined it would be quite a scenery since he had lived in the apprentice quarters most of the time before being recruited as a Grey Warden. The only place the dorm's window would give view was the vast calm lake, that was never calm at all, if one to be drowned in it, trying to escape the tower, Eldric once thought. He slipped a small chuckle thinking about all the crazy escape attempts he never got to test before venturing into the fade for the Harrowing. Oh, how long it have been. Nine years to be exact.

Nine years since that fateful day had turn him into a person he is now today.

Nine years since the Archdemon was slain at the top of Fort Drakon.

And nine years since she had left him, bearing with her what could possibly be his only child.

Their child.

He touched the silver engraved ring on his ring finger. Memories of her came pouring down within his mind like waves of sea oceans crashing through the coasts. Both good and bitter moments together. It's not as if he never tried to look for her. He did. But all of the attempts in doing so seemed to hit a dead end, or a pointless search party as Alistair had told him before countless of times. There were times when he thought of giving up and yet he still couldn't because of that one night where he felt something through the ring.

Regret.

And sorrow.

Those two were enough to encourage him in continuing his search for her. Despite still doing so when he had little time, it still proved to be hard and with the duty as a Warden, he still had to help Fereldan defend against some of the persistent darkspawns. "_If only I could reverse this ring's function, maybe it could-"_

"Ah, have I made you waited far too long, child?" the Warden turned his gaze towards the familiar voice and grinned as he saw the old man walking slowly towards him.

"I see the stairs have done some harsh workouts on you, ser."

"Andraste's! Do not mentioned them as they were sticks made to train hounds, child. Ugh, I would die just from having the thought of climbing them," Irving shrugged as though the stairs had an ill effect on him. He let out a sigh and was rubbing his back as he pulls a chair to sit with.

The Warden laughed at the sight of the old senior mage whom he respected so much and yet had the ample hate for a simple set of little stairs. "Surely I am not a child anymore to see that, First Enchanter," he smiled.

An old laugh with a sense of gruffiness filled the room as Irving smiled back at the child who has grown so much within these past years, "I am not so sure about that. There is still some of the old child that used to mob the dining hall left within that grown body of yours... child."

"And here I thought these past few years might have blunted your wit a little," Eldric sighed and smiled at the same time. He couldn't stop himself teasing the First Enchanter as Irving would have and always gave a kick back to his bottom as the old man is wise to do it.

With a clear in his throat, Irving replied, "Now now, don't get all upset because you haven't outdone me yet. Ha-ha _(cough cough)_. Ugh Maker, I am too old for this."

"I thought you wanted to retire after the Circle had been restored," Eldric asked. Obviously curious at what the First Enchanter would want to reply.

"I did. But eventually none of them wanted me too. At least until they found someone who is deemed suitable for the task. I have thought of actually suggesting you, yourself, Eldric," Irving replied contently.

"Me?" Eldric was horrified at Irving's idea. Not because of the responsibility of it but because who he had become since leaving that place. A Circle mage turned Grey Warden who had become infatuated with a beautiful snarky sinisterly charming illegal mage, or an apostate to be simple, as the chantry would claimed them to be. Irving would have a heart attack knowing how he survived slaying the archdemon. He didn't dared imagine how Gregoir's reaction would be if that old geezer knew. "I don't think that would be a wise idea, First Enchanter. The tower would sink on its way to oblivion if I were to take charge of it. Surely you would see that happen," Eldric said as he hopes Irving could see that he's not agreeing on this suggestion of his at all.

"If sinking the tower to its own oblivion would mean less stairs, I think it is perfect." Irving laughed when he saw Eldric's face had turned palish white as he jest on it. "Now child, I knew you wouldn't want it since you already had so many to content with." Eldric let out a sigh as he heard the First Enchanter's reply. "Come now, let us discuss on why I have called you here than giving you nightmares of you in this robe of mine."

Eldric didn't reply as he felt dizzy just thinking of him in Irving's robe. "_Haha, very funny Irving. Alistair would die laughing if he heard this."_ He simply pulled the chair in front of the table and sat down while Irving was about to brief him on the matter at hand.

"I called you here to ask for your help as Gregoir and I do not know how to handle this anymore. Have you heard of the recent news that several mages were incapacitated in a grueling manner over the past years?" Irving frowned slightly while giving the input of the news to Eldric.

"I did heard of it but they were few here and there. But weren't it stopped a few years ago? Why suddenly the mention of it? Does it have something to do with..." Eldric asked and stopped as the thought of the man who was responsible to end his life, if he had not passed his Harrowing came to his mind.

Irving could see the man in front of him grew in curiosity and could felt that he was already beginning to suspect the former templar. "It had recently occurred again in a place not near Fereldan. And yes, Cullen may or may not be involved in these murders. Only the Maker would know of it. We may have to be wary though. He is still a templar by heart as Gregoir would say it. But to us mages, he would still be a threat as an apostate is to a templar's eyes."

Eldric's mind flew a bit at the mentioned of the word 'apostate'. "_What if Morrigan had been killed viciously by Cullen too? -I swear I killed him if he ever touches her- What would become of our...child? Would they both survived until now?"_ There were so many things being imagined by him. Most of them are not what he hopes to be real though. Irving noticed the Warden had drifted into deep thoughts and wondered what might have bothered him into so. He knew Eldric and Cullen did not become close as Eldric did with Jowan. And yet, it still makes his old mind curious at what the Warden's thoughts are. Maybe he is worried about someone, a mage possibly. Irving thought of it but could not recall who it might be. "Are you alright, Eldric?" Irving replied, clearly worried about his former student's state.

"Huh? Oh, I was just wandering... er... whether Cullen might still be alive or not after these years," Eldric lied. Continuing from where he stopped, "So, I take it that you wanted me to take a look into this matter then, First Enchanter? Has Gregoir agreed on it?"

Irving nodded on Eldric's question and continued, "I have discussed the matter with Gregoir and we both agreed to have you look into it as we cannot waste any more resources into the problem. And you definitely had more skills and experience in this matter than we both are. We're old already and such a long journey are not healthy for-"

"Wait! What long journey?" Eldric cut off Irving's explanation before he could finish. "Does this have to do with traveling somewhere far away on the continent?" he continued asking questions on it, warily.

"Did I not mentioned it before? Oh, Maker forgive my old forgetfulness self! You see, child. This is why I asked for your help. I would forget the directions were if I to accompany some of the mages and templars investigating this incident. I couldn't let them go on their own anymore as most of them didn't come back to report back to us, fearing they may have failed at it," the First Enchanter replied back whilst he suddenly felt cold with the air breezing in through the open window.

"It sounded serious though," Eldric gave a quick reply while still thinking if all this was a good idea. He had thought of continuing his search for Morrigan by tomorrow and suddenly that plan had to be halted by having him tracking Cullen who had despised his decision to save the Circle nine years ago. "_Hmm...so much 'love' for the good guy. Let's just hope its not going to take me far away than Frostback Mountains since that was the last place people have been seeing her. At least someone of her description. But... that was 6 years ago. Did she really didn't want to see me anymore?" _With so many unanswered questions in his thoughts, Eldric gave the old mage an answer, "Alright, I'll help. So where should I go to investigate the last murdering of the mages then?"

"Oh, you do not know how wonderful that news is," Irving grinned as he replied. Obviously in joyous mood as his former student has agreed to it. "You will have to board a ship to Orlais when you are ready then."

* * *

"What? Orlais?!" Alistair laughed out loud when he heard the outcome of his dear friend's visit to the First Enchanter few days ago. "Are you serious? Couldn't there be anyone more qualified to this task? I'm not implying that you're not good at it, but last time I remembered, you threw up when we took the boat to the Tower. Surely a ship would definitely vanquished any food resided in your tummy out of you, right?" Alistair chuckled a bit at the last question.

"Ha-ha-ha, very funny. You would forget how Irving looks like and yet, you still remember I left some recollection of my precious vomits in the lake on that day and not to mention, the recent visit," Eldric rubbed the back of neck as he sighed at his friend's comments. His friend was still his usual self and that warms the mage's heart amidst of all the chaotic events that might turn out for him in the next few days.

"No heart feelings, right? Even Morrigan couldn't stop laughing at you when you did that," Alistair replied with a wide grin that would reach his ears if he tried harder. Noticing Eldric's faint smile at the thought of it made Alistair regretted at mentioning the witch's name. "I'm guessing you still haven't got over her after all these long years have passed."

Eldric shrugged at his templar friend's comment and replied, "No. And I think I never will. Not until I get some answers to the questions that's been bugging my head over these years."

"Which one could have cracked your skull? The ones where you wondered if she truly loves you or the thought of what she might did when her water broke?" Alistair said as he clearly tries to enlighten the mood with his bad sets of jokes.

His friend seemed to be aware of it and decided to make do with him. "You know Alistair, maybe I ought to get an answer for this question. What would really happen to the sole heir of Maric if he were to be married to Anora nine years ago and be left to make babies with her in the future...I wonder." Eldric raised his eyebrows as he ends the last two words.

"Maker's breath! Babies?! Are you out of your tainted mind? The thought of _me and her_ making ou- I meant us, _both_ on the same be- _Ugh_. I suddenly feel the need to vomit elsewhere," Eldric's quick response had left Alistair ecstatic and he laughed at his friend's horrid face. "You certainly had fun at that. Did Morrigan taught you to do that or has she put some unknown secretive undetectable enchantment on you so you could entertain me with scary witchy past memories of her, I wonder."

"Who knows. Maybe both," Eldric replied while inquiring at the thought that Alistair still had some resentment left in him against the Witch of the Wilds, as most people claimed them to be. Despite many of his attempts to get Eldric forget about his attempt in pursuing her, Alistair was still the one who had accompanied him during that search. "Have you ever had the slightest tiniest feeling of likeness towards her during the moments where we fought the blight before?" he asked curiously.

"Honestly and truthfully? No. To me she's always the manipulative selfish bitchy witch as she always demonstrated to poor _Alistair_. We shared a hateful relationship, if you must know. Although I do like the moment when she didn't get to answer my academic question where she promptly suggesting that it was actually a religion question. No doubt I enjoyed that moment," Alistair replied cheekily knowing he won that banter at that time.

"I remember that," the mage smiled and remembered what good memories those were when he traveled with his companions. "You know, I think you would like her a little more once you get to know her better, Alistair. Would you like me to-"

"Uh, better spare me the details of you getting to know her. I probably filled my helm with my vomit if I heard them," Alistair didn't want to indulge into imagining the true Morrigan as his friend claimed her to be. He would be better imagining the woman as a sneaky vile witch instead. "So, back to the main issue, you're asking me to go with you to Orlais together with Zevran. Why is that? Aside from probably keeping you at bay when you become an instant puking catapult on the sea?" the templar asked obviously curious at what his friend's reply might be.

"Alistair, dear friend and _templar_. The person who might have been responsible for this series of murders might be a mad raving templar and you knew I wouldn't be able to hold long before his or her sword could be plunged deep within any part of my pukable body. And who knows what dangers might lie for me when I arrived there. You knew I'm a mage, right?" the mage gave the templar a frown as he replied the latter's question.

"Of course I knew. And even if you hadn't asked, I would have happily tagged along. I was just... curious. I mean, you had Zevran to go with you so..." Alistair was tugging his golden Grey Warden armor like a boy who didn't get a chance to play with his friends while mumbling at all sorts of things that would happen if he didn't go together with them.

Eldric smiled at his warden compatriot and said, "And that's why I was afraid of not bringing you together with me. You would nag me all day long when I come back here if I didn't bring you to Orlais. Plus, I needed someone to keep me sane while I'm away from here and you seemed to be good at that."

"Well, thank you dear friend and _mage_. I didn't imagined I'd be someone who could kept their minds at bay, given that the person himself was unstable at times. Did Zevran knew already about this?" Alistair asked as he was concerned that they would have to make further trip just for the sake of a crazy mage-hunter.

"A messenger from the tower had be sent already and he's probably going to be there earlier than us since he's much closer to Orlais than us at the moment," the mage replied at his friend's question and was now going to take a rest before a long journey ahead. But Alistair had one more concern in his mind and so, he asked, "So, what about Morrigan? Are you going to stop searching for her now?"

Eldric glanced at Alistair who looked serious now after the jokes are put aside. He knew his friend was concern about him. He simply replied, "I guess I have to hold it then. I just can't think of it at the moment with this Orlais trip lingering around. I don't know how long this murdering will end but I hope it will end soon so I could focus on finding her. Ah, listen to me, always ranting about some pointless search, as you would have said it." He grinned and Alistair smiled back. The mage continued, "We should get some rest before tomorrow's trip then."

"Alright. But whatever you decided on, always know you have my support, Eldric. Even though it means pursuing that woman you have fallen for despite how many times I have tried not to imagine the thought of you both together," replied Alistair. He saw his mage friend chuckled back at his humor and yet he could still see the sad emptiness in his eyes. Something which had been developed on his mage friend over the nine years. Alistair hoped that this trip would at least keep Eldric content as to not think about his very own personal witch hunt.

* * *

Morrigan felt a pang of agony, so strong and sudden that it caused her to drop the pot she was holding as she was about to prepare for dinner. She touched the ring that she wore on her finger. The same ring that she had gave him as a gift nine years ago. The same ring that would link him to her but unsure of whether it would work otherwise. "_Has he been in some trouble, I wonder." _She sensed her own concern over the Warden and brushed that thought aside as quickly as possible thinking that he might just be in some kind of hazardous arcane experiment of him.

As she bent down to pick up the pot up, she wondered as she looked upon the ring. "_What if he's dying?"_ Morrigan was terrified at the idea of him in such state since she knew Eldric didn't know a single healing spell at all. He was only an Arcane Warrior who knew how to combat using magic to compensate his lack of warrior skills and not being able to tend to his own wounds. As she drifted to the possible causes of his agony channelled through the faintest connection they shared through the rings, she saw a blurry reflection of the man who had made her terrified of her own feelings for him. Although, this reflection was a bit shorter than the original person in mind.

"Mother! Look! I caught some fish and they're big!" a young boy with a bright pair of blue eyes yet had a small set of irises similar to a dragon, if looked carefully, came towards the small kitchen holding three fishes in his hands which he had claimed he caught. Yet the child's mother was not utterly convinced by it, fearing more over the consequences of his action.

"Did I not tell you not to go to the town buying things when not needed? People would discover our whereabouts and have I not told you before of all the possible things those templar fools might do to us had someone reported on you to those zealots? Hm?" Morrigan scowled at the boy. He was clearly taken back by the witch's angry comment.

Determined on not giving up his innocent, he tried pleading for it. "I didn't went to the town, mother. I learned that lesson two years ago when you buried me till my neck was in the ground for one day. I caught them! Seriously! With... with...," the boy seemed to be at loss to prove that he really didn't went to the town as he doesn't want to expose his actual scheme on successfully getting those healthy fishes. Instead of finding the right words, he lied to his mother, "With my bare teeth. Exactly! When I shapeshift into a cat I caught them in the river with my cat's teeth and fangs."

Morrigan snorted at her son's awful attempt to lie to her, "And who would believe that story, little boy. If you had caught them while shapeshifting as a cat, I would have seen your so-called cat fangs marked within these fishes, no?" She took the fishes wrapped in torn cloth from his hands and patted them as though she was inspecting them.

"Uh...uh... You should have taught me to lie better, mother," the boy was sweating as he tried to make a humor out of it knowing what sort of punishment his mother would lay for him.

The witch glared at him and it sends a chill through his spine. The last thing he would want was to get on his mother's bad side and it was the major thing he had been learning to avoid as he grew older. He thought that maybe if he lied by telling that he got those fishes in his cat form, his mother would be impressed with him. Clearly, she's not, at the moment.

Morrigan noticed his son was now staring down at his feet. She sighed and knew she had to punish him somehow. For such a small mistake could put them both in danger. Although there was one curious thing she had to asked when she inspected the fishes again, closely this time, "How did you caught these gilled animals then? 'Tis a curious thing that the fishes seemed to be half cooked already." Morrigan was aware that the boy's eyes were now alarmed at her question. "You did not stole these from some merchant, have you?" Morrigan end the last bit of question with a raised tone.

The boy panicked for his defense, finally, blurted out the truth. "No, I didn't! I swear on my mother's grave that I didn't! No one saw me! I...I...zapped them with lightning," the boy was talking so fast her mother blinked at his response.

"You...what?!" Morrigan yelled at the bizarre thought that his son was using lightning to catch fishes. The thought of fishes flying out of the river as a result of electrocution was unnerving and yet, funny at the same time. She hold her laugh and acted the serious mother while continued interrogating the child's own bizarre behavior. "Why on Earth would you do that? You could have just plucked them with your hands or your so-called cat fangs had you shapeshifted."

"I... was... experimenting. It seemed to work, right?" It did seem to occur to him that his mother had been a little bit amused by this event and he was content to make light of the situation.

Morrigan on the other hand was appalled to hear her son's response. "_What have you done to me, Eldric, you blasted fool. First you gave me a boy instead of a girl. And now you gave your insane-usually-resulted-in-hazardous-havoc-and-definitely-bad experimenting trait with your seed to me_." The witch rolled her eyes and shakes her head at the thought of it. She couldn't help but gave a faint smile that her son had inherited that dratted man's bizarre trait of all the other good traits that he have. Even the boy's eyes reminds her so much of the man she had left years ago.

The child saw her mother's drifted smile and continued to talk rapidly in his defense, "So was it okay for me- Ow!" His mother yanked the pot on his head before he could finish his sentence.

"And that is for saying you would swear on your mother's grave when she is obviously standing in front of you, breathing finely as a High Dragon might breathe its fire," she replied as the pot was removed. The boy squinted in pain and rubbed his sore head. "And you, young lad, would be wise enough to get yourself changed and be ready for dinner as well as your study for tonight."

"It's okay then? Really? Can I help-"

"Cedric!"

"Yes, mother, I think I'll go change now." With hurry, Cedric turned away from his mother and scruffily went on to ready himself for the night's events before his mother could change her mind about him.

Morrigan sighed at her son's behavior for she knew he had both of her's and Eldric's different traits of curiosity. And it had sometimes made them nearly being discovered and hunted by the Chantry's templars residing in the Circle. There was once, where she had thought the mountains would be a good place to stay in hiding, but how wrong she was when she saw her unconscious son being dragged mercilessly by three templars who resented mages living outside the towers. She killed them the same way her son was tormented though.

It was weird enough for her that she had cared for her son. "_Had I?" _It was more of an awkward feeling as she did not remember her mother showing any of this... possibly motherly affection towards her. "_Was it? Just by the thought of it confuses me even more." _One thing for sure is that she stopped pondering it further at the mentioned of her mother. The single thought of her mother had made her stomach lurched more in pain. It was the person that she would want to avoid the most as she knew her mother was hard to kill and what more, die. Another person would be _him_, whom she put blame on resulting the dark ritual taking on a _different_ toll. But no matter, she thought to herself. It would be safer for her now, at least for the time being, as she is far away from the land that holds many memories with her mother as well as with him.


End file.
